Hi, I'm Bearnard(a.k.a. Bernie) B. Behr. I'm traveling around the U.S. with my human Gary, who is a professional tour guide for California Sunriders motorcycle tours. We travel the country to beautiful places and meet people from around the world. I keep Gary from getting in trouble and help him keep the guests on his tours happy! Keep coming back and enjoy the blog. Feel free to post a comment or make suggestions and we look forward to reading them.

About Me

Hello, I'm Bearnard (a.k.a. Bernie) B. Behr. I travel around the United States with my human Gary, who is a professional tour guide for California Sunriders motorcycle tours. We both come from Conifer, Colorado, a nice little town in the Rocky Mountains. We travel all over the country finding beautiful places and meeting all sorts of people from around the world. I keep Gary from getting in trouble and help him keep the guests on his tours happy, not an easy job! We have a lot of fun together and see a lot of really great places, and since Gary is a professional photographer too, we have some great pictures too (usually starring yours truly). Gary also likes to write a lot, (he's a little long-winded but tells a good story) so there's usually a lot to read. It's a good thing too, I can't type very well with these paws, so I'll have Gary do most of the writing. Keep coming back and enjoy the blog. Feel free to post a comment or make suggestions (like how to keep these crazy humans in line!) and we look forward to reading them.
Sincerely,
Bearnard B. Behr
And
Gary Fleshman

Saturday, June 24, 2006

Day Two…Chicago!

Day two is a busy one, we begin with a group breakfast and rider meeting to introduce ourselves, go over the rules of the road, riding etiquette, and other important information. Afterwards it’s a short limo ride to Eaglerider motocycle rental of Chicago to go pick up our bikes for the journey across the country. This is where we are assinged our rentals, check them thoroughly and go over basic operation of the bikes by model. We then load them with everything we will need for the day and take a quick jaunt around the block (or two) to get a feel for them. Most of the riders have never ridden a Harley and are unfamiliar with how the bikes sound, feel and handle. Once everyone feels confident on thier respective bike there’s a quick rider’s meeting and we’re on our way.

The first trial is getting the pack out of the hectic traffic of metropolitan Chicago, not an easy task for all concerned. Once on the outskirts of Chicago we pick up the origional route where it seperates from interstate 55. This is where we begin to see the “real America”, small towns, manufacturing, and farming communities, what makes the United States function as a nation.

Our first stop is for a quick rest break and to see one of the many giant statue-advertisements found along the route. The “Gemini Giant Rocket Man” is one of many garish advertisements which were to be found along the route, selling everything from gas and food to cheap trinkets and overnight lodging for the weary traveler. Many of which have fallen into disrepair, been stolen or destroyed, or just plain forgotten and left to the elements to slowly decay onto obscurity.

After a brief stop it’s back on the road to the first of many roadside diners for luch. Then it’s on to see one of the origional Standard Oil Company gas stations on the route.Once in complete disrepair and about to fall down, but due to a resurgence in the route’s popularity the local residents have restored and opened it as a museum. From there it’s on to Springfield for dinner and finally our hotel for the night.